Figures show fall in MRSA cases starting to stall
Fall in cases of MRSA appears to have stalled, HPA says
Also In The News
|
Rangers will need another good away performance if they are reach the Uefa Cup final after they were held 0-0 in the semi-final first-leg by Fiorentina. |  |
Friday, 25, Apr 2008 07:35
The fall in cases of the hospital-associated infection MRSA appears to have stalled, according to new figures from the Health Protection Agency (HPA).
The figures show a 0.6 per cent increase in MRSA bloodstream infections from the third to final quarter of 2007.
There were 1,087 cases reported in England during the October to December quarter of 2007 compared to 1,080 reports in the previous quarter.
Until the final few months of 2007 cases of MRSA had been steadily falling.
Dr Georgia Duckworth, head of the HPA's healthcare-associated infection (HCAI) and antimicrobial resistance department, said the current figures "indicate a plateau" but cautioned that "variations in the rate of decrease over time are not unexpected and are not necessarily a cause for alarm".
"We would obviously like to have seen the trend continued in this quarter and hope that ongoing surveillance will show that this plateau is not indicative of a levelling trend, but we need to see next quarter's figures," she added.
"The NHS has faced a great challenge in turning around the seemingly unstoppable rise in MRSA bloodstream infections that we saw throughout the 1990s.
"The substantial decreases seen in recent quarters clearly demonstrate the huge efforts made by our NHS colleagues to combat these infections."
The HPA also announced the latest figures for the HCAI Clostridium difficile (C.difficile).
There were 9,872 cases reported in patients aged 65 years and over between October and December 2007.
This represents an eight per cent reduction in reported cases in this age group from the previous quarter.
However the HPA advised that there have been recent changes to the way trusts are required to report C.difficile infections.
"Although the C. difficile figures this quarter may not be as accurate as we would like because of these changes, it was important not to disrupt the publication cycle and we strongly support the refinements to the data collection because these will make the surveillance more robust," Dr Duckworth said.